21 September 2010

Run for your life, it's a TAXI!

Every time I get into a Hong Kong taxi, I can't help but fear for my life. If it's not a speed-racing, tail-gating maniac, it's a start-stop-start-stop half-blind grandpa, or if I'm lucky, it's actually a decent driver who's just a little (read: VERY) bitter about having to be a taxi driver and tells me repeatedly during the ride how much he hates his job.

Unfortunately bad taxi drivers are the norm here and I end up gripping the door handles and/or slamming on my imaginary brakes multiple times before I reach my final destination, ready to puke. The nausea is of course brought on by last minute lane changes, loud and whiny Cantonese opera on the guy's stereo (people really listen to this crap?!), the heavy stench of cigarettes or a hearty combination of the above.

It gets me so mad whenever I have to ride with these dangerous taxi drivers. As someone who doesn't enjoy driving because of all the responsibility involved, I can't believe how taxi drivers can be so reckless, especially when they literally have other peoples' lives in their hands! Do they secretly want to kill themselves, with no care for whoever's in the car with them? Do they think driving a taxi is like playing a racing video game? And do they really think they are invincible and can get away with any crazy maneuver they make up in their heads?!

These guys need a wake up call. Just last July, a woman was run over and killed by a taxi driver in Mong Kok after a night of playing mah jong. In June, an elderly man was also run over by a taxi driver, who simply said he "heard a loud sound and found the senior lying in the third lane." In May, a drugged up HK taxi driver drove SO badly his passengers jumped out of his moving cab!

So, what can we do about these cold-blooded killers? Next time you're in one of their cabs, make sure you mark down his/her name and license number and report that bastard! TIP: If your taxi driver does not cooperate, only put him in a headlock after making sure he doesn't have a good set of teeth (or any at all), unless you can stand to lose a fingertip or two...

Wait till you experience a trip in a taxi in Ningbo, Hong Kong taxi drivers drive like people wanting to pass their driving test!! Still, most taxi drivers here (in Ningbo) refuse a tip (unless you insist very hard), which is very unusual for cab drivers anywhere in the world.

About the Pub

At the Libertines Pub, Hong Kong, you're invited to think otherwise. We are a bunch of rascals who got fed up with the herd mentality and would like to see you having the courage to think for yourself. Our sole objective is the liberation of your thinking through provocative, sometimes irritating, ridicule.